No favorites here

Just so you know that there are no favorites in this house here are some pictures of Halle Kate over the past several days. Matney was easy to take a picture of when she was little because she loved the boppy. I took tons of pics of her in there every day. Halle Kate? She hates the boppy, hates the swing, hates the bouncy seat. She would like to be held up with her head over your shoulder, thank you very much, and that makes it hard to take a picture. Anyway, here are a few I snapped along the way.
Suprise!

Just relaxing in Mama's lap.


So sweet and peaceful. This is how she spent her time at the mall while Matney ran wild in the play area.

Sneaky, Sneaky!

I am POSITIVE that Matney has learned to hide her pacis now that she doesn't get one unless it is bedtime (or unless I am not around and Grandma feels sorry for her!). Look at this. In the first picture, behind that dumb old paci, is a look of fear and questioning. Matney found a paci and it is still on her clip. "Hmmm...you think Mama will notice this??? It does happen to blend in with my outfit rather well."

And this picture? Llama llama mad at Mama! Yep, baby girl, I know a paci when I see one. And I snatched the paci away!

Look, Kaci!!!

Though there are pictures of the girls this is for my friend Kaci. She is physical therapist who works with kids and got many phone calls from me when Matney didn't want to roll over, stand up, crawl, etc. Kaci taught me how important is was for her to be on her belly and strengthening those back and neck muscles from the beginning.

So, Aren't you impressed? Here is proof that I did learn something! Halle Kate is already spending time on her belly at one month. Maybe you won't get as many phone calls from me with Halle Kate as you did with Matney. We miss you, come see us soon!!!

I can hardly stand the cuteness!!!

I know that many of you reading have your own kids. And yes, your own kids are the cutest thing you've ever seen but pretend not to be biased for just a minute. Now tell me that this is not the cutest munchkin? Oh my, I can hardly stand it. Looking at these pictures makes me want to go grab my pigtailed girl right out of her bed just to give her a big kiss!!!



There is only one more full week of my mom being up here before school starts again so we all worked hard to get the boring stuff done last week. Oil changes, eye dr appts, etc...yuck. Taking Matney back to the mall playground...FUN!!!




I asked Matney to find me the pig. Um, right HERE!


Such a cute little behind with that hairdo. Even her backside makes me smile!

First comes love, then comes marriage...

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Stacey with a big, huge, honkin' baby carriage!
Remember a couple posts ago I said I was going to put together our new double stroller? Well here it is and it is huge! Oh my goodness. And I think it is the last step before the minivan, partially because you need a bus to fit it into. This bad boy weighs 40 lbs and is loads of fun to lift in and out of the car. Add 25lbs of Matney and 15+ lbs of Halle Kate and her infant seat and it is a BEAST! I assure you I will NOT be taking it on any long walks around this neighborhood's hills. I am pretty sure that halfway up it's 80+ pounds would come sliding back and crush me like a bug!

I'd been looking at reviews online for double strollers for a while and was really torn about which one to buy. They are expensive and I didn't want to end up with one that I'd hate and never use. Long story short I bought one, got it home and knew pushing around the living room that it wouldn't work. We loaded the girls back in the car and made another trip to Babies R Us to look again. I had ignored this one for a while because it was $100 more than the other options and I am cheap! However, after testing them all I knew this was the only one that really is funtional. So, I came home and looked online. Guess who found this stroller for $9 CHEAPER than the other options?!?! ME! No shipping, no tax and on clearance because this particular fabric is being discontinued. WHOO HOO! I hit "submit order" as quickly as I could so that I wouldn't miss the deal.
After several trips out with both girls I can say that I love this stroller and, even had I not gotten a great deal, it would have been well worth the extra money I would have spent. I know several of you reading will be in the market for a double stroller soon. I promise you girls, I tried them all and this on is worth saving your pennies for!

Matney found her!

Look, Mama! I stepped up on my big girl stool and found my sister!


Kisses!

Play time at the mall

We tried to find somewhere to take Matney over the 4th of July weekend that would be different and fun. The mall around here has a play area that we hoped Matney would enjoy. It was more crowded than we thought and she didn't want to get out of Jared's lap. She smiled watching the big kids play but we left without her getting down. A little while later I had to stop and feed Halle Kate so we went back to the play area. These are the pics I snapped as Matney stood at the entrance and debated whether or not she had the courage to go inside.


I think I can, I think I can!



And once she was inside she LOVED it!



Jared trying to make Matney leave the play area. She was NOT ready to go!

A couple more times on the slide and she finally started getting tired.


What a BIG girl! I will blame it on post-pregnancy hormones but I was teary eyed watching her run around, having so much fun. She is growing so quickly. I can't wait to take her back!

Infidelity

I never thought I would type the word infidelity and have it associated with our home. But, it is apparent that a love affair has been building for a while and now the duck is out of the bath tub, so to speak. It pains me to say it but Matney has been cheating on Elmo with Ernie. GASP! I know? Aren't you shocked? It all started with a Sesame Street DVD and a fascination with a certain song inspired by a squeaky, yellow rubber duck.
I caught some of the proof on camera last week. Matney has a set of Sesame Street number cards and she sifts through all 20 of them to find the 2 Ernie cards. This particular day Jared was working on the deck and Matney wanted to show off her new man to Daddy outside.

Sisters!

Halle Kate made her church debut this week and, of course, wanted to match her sister. Mom found these cute dresses just after HK was born and I have been waiting for her to get big enough to wear hers. They aren't the best pictures but catching these two still is IMPOSSIBLE!










M was excited because she stole her sister's paci and it wasn't broken!

Paci wanting polar bear holding princess

Matney wanted to wear her princess pjs and bow last week. I can hardly stand the cuteness that has invaded this house! I wonder if Jared would agree...there are bows and tutus EVERYWHERE!

Here is our paci wanting, polar bear holding princess...in backwards order.

ha! Matney inspecting the "broken" paci. She tried to hold it in her mouth but finally gave up and left it on the ground. Ah, success!

See the happiness? She was reaching for the paci, thinking that her nice mommy wasn't about to hand her a broken one.

Mom! I want a paci!!!